David Tait
Rainmakers & Potstirrers

David Tait

CEO: World Gold Council

www.gold.org

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‘We’re in a unique moment because big governments have never really given a toss about what’s going on in the Amazon or the DRC’

DAVID Tait sought to improve gold’s standing among commercial banks in his first few years at the World Gold Council. In 2023, he announced a strategy to digitise gold so it could be incorporated into the systems of large commercial banks. This came at a time when some public sector or central banks were starting to build their own gold reserves. Record net purchases of 1,100 tons in 2022 were all but matched in 2023. Central bank purchases moderated in 2024 but that was as investors turned positive on gold, driving the metal to nearly $2,800/oz. 

But gold’s rise – third-quarter demand exceeded $100bn for the first time in October – has a dark side, it seems. A World Gold Council report said that as of 2022, terrorist organisations such as Russia’s Wagner Group, al-Qaeda, Islamic State and FARC were subverting for their nefarious ends a major portion of $95bn in annually mined artisanal and small-scale gold in Africa and South America. This was how the world’s safe haven asset could have profoundly unsafe consequences for world security, Tait said. His idea is to identify, isolate, and prosecute the perpetrators but also provide a safe and sustainable alternative supply chain to the violent tactics of terrorists. 

Some central banks have signed up to the council’s ‘London Principles’ to buy artisanally mined gold. Tait hopes to have plants built near artisanal sites to close the loops with central banks while improving gold recoveries for the miners, at a fair price. First stop will be this year’s G20 summit in South Africa at which Tait hopes to win heavyweight political support.

LIFE OF DAVID

Prior to joining the World Gold Council in 2018, Tait was global head of fixed macro products at Credit Suisse. He started in banking about 35 years ago at Goldman Sachs before joining Credit Suisse. He is an independent member of the Bank of England’s market standards board. Tait is also highly regarded for child protection advocacy work, receiving an MBE for services to the Rebuilding Childhoods Board. Tait has raised a total of £1.5m by summiting Mount Everest on five occasions. A film depicting his life story, Sulphur & White, received a Royal World Premiere in 2020.

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